Gobi Gallop: Endurance Horse Ride in Mongolia

By: Gyöngyi Molnár Posted: 10/08/2021

We invite you to read the amazing story of Julie Veloo, a Long Rider who started riding at the age of 50.

Julie has been riding for about 10 years and has travelled more than 35,000 km in Mongolia. Today, she’s a member of the exclusive Long Riders' Guild.

She founded the Gobi Gallop, an annual endurance ride that challenges riders to travel on horseback 700 km in Mongolia, in 10 days. This horseback endurance ride has taken place every year since 2013 and is considered the longest ride in the world.

It's a charity endurance ride. In this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, they raise funds to care for and educate hundreds of seriously disadvantaged Mongolian children and their families.

All of Julie’s work in Mongolia is done on a volunteer basis. All of the money raised by this ride and many other charity rides Julies organizes and manages stays in Mongolia to benefit the children as well as local herdsmen, businesses and artisans.

And now, let´s discover more about Julie and her activities…

Julie's life in Mongolia

Julie, you are originally from Canada, but you live in Mongolia. Tell us when you moved to Mongolia and why you chose this place.

I moved to Mongolia in 2010 with my husband for his work. He was in mining and his job had taken us all over the world – we had lived and worked in a few places in Canada, in Australia, Indonesia and the USA before moving to Mongolia.

We moved to Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, even though his work was at a mine in the South Gobi 700 km away. We very soon, however, got a ger (you might call it a yurt) in the countryside for the weekends to get away from the city. It was there that I fell in love with the Mongolian people, history, culture and of course, the horses.

As an aside, the very first Gobi Gallop was held with local expats living in Ulaanbaatar and we rode from our ger in the countryside all the way to my husband’s workplace, Oyu Tolgoi in the South Gobi.

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I guess that not everybody speaks English over there… So how do you communicate with Mongolian people?

I learned Mongolian right from the beginning. In fact, my Mongolian language teacher, Saraa is also half of the ownership team for Horse Trek Mongolia. It was on her and her husband Baagii’s land where we first put up our ger.

Because essentially none of the people from the garbage dump or out in the countryside speak English, I really had a great opportunity to use the Mongolian I was learning and so became functionally fluent quite quickly.

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What are your main activities over there?

We also have a summer camp for 300 6-16 year olds, a sewing centre training women from the dump community, a brand new community library and a number of community outreach and employment initiatives.

All designed to help break the cycle of scavenging to survive before it becomes generational.

I also help out with Horse Trek Mongolia by organizing folks from around the world to come on a whole series of charity rides.

We have rides going to the famed Eagle Hunters, the remote Reindeer People, out to the wilderness north of Terelj National Park, over to World Heritage sites like the 8 Lakes and Orkhon waterfall and a special cultural based ride that focuses on Mongolian history and culture.

Horse Trek Mongolia donates 20% of the tariff from these rides to children’s charities in Mongolia, including Veloo Foundation.

In addition to these ‘regular’ rides, I organize the Gobi Gallop every year, taking 10-20 people on a 700 km / 10 days of riding adventure to raise money to help the children from Veloo Foundation’s projects.

Each rider pays the ride fee of about US$3750 and then is required to raise a similar amount of money for the charity. As Veloo Foundation is a registered 501 (c)3 Not for Profit in the United States and a registered Canadian Charity we are able to issue tax receipts for donations from these two countries which makes fundraising there easier.

I also run the Veloo Foundation office in Mongolia overseeing the work of 6 people all working hard on fundraising events, volunteer management, corporate sponsorship and communicating our message out to the world so that we can help shine a huge light on the problem of people scavenging to survive in all seasons here in the coldest capital city on the planet.

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Horse riding in Mongolia

You started riding at the age of 50, in Mongolia. What was that experience like?

I really was interested in the culture and after spending time out in the countryside I realized that if I wanted to understand Mongolia, I would have to ride a horse… at least a little bit.

I was really scared of horses and had been for most of my life, but watching little four and five year-olds thunder across the plains in front of my ger gave me confidence to give it a try.

Once I sat on the back of a horse it all fell into place… like a Tetris game really. I could see how humankind and civilization had developed together with and because of the horse. I could feel its critical role in humanity as a whole.

Learning in the heart of the oldest unbroken horse culture on the planet only made that feeling stronger and more important and once I had done my very first short ride, I was absolutely hooked.

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What would you recommend to people who start horse riding at this age?

read a post on the internet that says essentially: "So you want to learn to ride… well you had better be prepared to fall off, because you will."

I looked at that quote for about 2 hours one night as I was deciding about learning to ride and I decided the risk was worth the reward.

I have, in fact, come off a number of times, but nothing too serious fortunately. I think looking at, examining and accepting the risk at the age of 50 empowered me a LOT in other areas of my life and I know that it has absolutely been the best decision with respect to a new hobby (passion?) for my golden years.

People learning to ride at 50 will find that the associated freedom and sense of accomplishment, (not to mention time with horses and out in the wilderness) will spill over into all other areas and enrich your life in ways you cannot currently imagine.

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What breeds of horses have you ridden in Mongolia? What characteristics do they have?

The horses here are all free range Mongolian horses. They are the same horses that arose thousands of years ago on the Central Asian Plain and carried Chinggis Khan to world dominance.

They are small (mostly 14.1 or 14.2), straight backed, thick legged and with the courage, endurance and heart of champions.

They are the most amazing horses and can easily cover 75 km / day, day after day… if they have had the right training.

They run wild and barefoot across this open land and live in natural bands and, as a result, are superbly adapted not only to the landscape but to the challenges faced in their local areas.

We are very fortunate that our guides and ownership team at Horse Trek Mongolia are all countryside folks who have been riding and training horses since their childhood. They do an excellent job in ensuring that our horses are not only well trained and cared for, but fully prepared to carry our riders for 700 km in just 10 days on the Gobi Gallop.

Because, our horses are trained in traditional Mongolian endurance techniques and fed and ridden all winter, they are some of the best horses in the entire country… and that’s saying something!

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Veloo Foundation

When was the Veloo Foundation born? What is its mission?

Veloo Foundation was founded in 2007 in Salt Lake City. Our mission is to help orphans and other similarly disadvantaged children in the developing world through a series of educational, health, community outreach and employment initiatives.

Our largest project to date is the “Children of the Peak Sanctuary Project” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia which focuses on Mongolian children in serious need.

Includes two kindergartens, a sewing centre, a summer camp and a community library as well as a number of other community outreach and employment initiatives.

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Where does your inspiration come from to carry out these projects of the foundation?

From the smiles on the faces of the children and from seeing first-hand the enormous, life changing impact education has on children and families.

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The Gobi Gallop

Organizing and conducting an endurance ride like the Gobi Gallop must be quite challenging. Can you tell us what it takes to join this ride and the day-to-day operations?

We interview applicants and qualify up to 20 riders per Gobi Gallop each year.

The riders are required to pay the ride fee (currently US$3750) and then must raise the donation portion of the ride - a minimum of US$3500.

The route changes every year and so far we have had rides that have covered the Gobi, Omno Gov, Dond Gov, Hintee, Arkhangai and Overhangai Provinces. As well as scouted routes in Zavkhan, Khovsgul and Bulgan Provinces.

For the Gobi Gallop we ride a minimum of 700 km in 10 days of riding. The first and last days are half days and we have a rest day built into the schedule to allow for unexpected events… the sort of events for which Mongolia is famous.

We take two horses per rider and so the Gobi Gallop is not only the longest annual charity endurance ride on the planet, but also a ride which highlights the incredible endurance of the Mongolian horse.

We take along a doctor on this ride and he comes along with one of our support vehicles. The support vehicle carries everyone’s day pack, our coffee break supplies, additional raingear and the like and is usually within a km or two of the riders. We communicate with the driver via industrial grade walkie talkie and / or satellite phone.

In addition to this vehicle we take along a bus which carries all the additional baggage and food, the cooks and camp hands and everyone’s luggage. We see the bright yellow bus at lunch and it is always the most welcome sight when spotted at our camp at the end of a long 70 km day!

Riders arrive at camp to find their tents set up, their luggage in their tent, food and drink prepared and ready at the table with camp chairs set up for an evening of convivial chat. Bed time is usually around 10:00 and we wake up at about 5:00 to head off at 6:00 or so.

We ride each day for about 2 hours before taking a break. The break is 15-30 minutes and then we ride for another 2 hours before lunch. Lunch can be anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on weather and then we suit up and ride another 2 hours before our afternoon break. We continue riding in 2 hour blocks until we have reached camp – sometimes we have 8 hours of riding per day but 10 is more common and sometimes even as much at 14 is necessary if the going is slow.

While it is called the Gobi Gallop, there is a lot more trotting than galloping although most days do include somewhere in the neighbourhood of 2 hours of cantering.

Crossing the wild and wide beauty of Mongolia and, at the same time helping children makes for an absolutely unforgettable ride.

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Does the Gobi Gallop have a fixed itinerary or does it change every year? How do you choose the travel plan or route?

The route changes every year. Usually Saraa and Baagii and I sit down and have a chat about what part of the country will be suitable for the following year (or even sometimes 2 years) based on where we haven’t been and what the winter weather if predicted to be and what time of year the Gobi Gallop will be held.

It is usually held in June but sometimes other large rides (or Covid!) have resulted in us moving the ride to the fall which necessitates a route change.

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Who are the people who participate in the ride? Where do they come from?

We have had people from around the world and of all ages. The average profile of a Gobi Galloper is aged 40 – 60, with an adventurous spirit and a desire to make a difference in the world by helping children.

Our oldest Gobi Galloper was a 69 year old man from Canada, Chad Deetken and our youngest an 18 year old girl also from Canada.

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What happened in 2020 with the Gobi Gallop endurance ride?

In 2020 we had to cancel the regularly scheduled Gobi Gallop due to Covid restriction, but I decided that seeing as I was in Mongolia and able to do so, I would set myself a Gobi Gallop Solo Challenge – to see how fast I could ride the 700 km by myself.

Turns out the answer to that is 8 days.

It was really wonderful to push myself that hard and even though the weather was much more challenging than I expected (cold and WINDY!!), I managed to get up every day and get on the horse and cover the long miles.

The longest day was 110 km and we ended up coming in 4 hours into the dark… at 10:30 at night or so. It was a moonless night and the black was so thick the only way to see your hand was to hold it up against the magical blanket of the star draped night!

It was honestly the most magical ride I have ever had – had to give it ALL over to the horse and pray they really can see in the dark!

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What perspectives do you see for 2021? Will Gobi Gallop be held this year?

Yes, we have it scheduled for the last 2 weeks of September.

Mongolia is opening up again now and the vaccination campaign is well under way. While the case numbers are still alarmingly high, almost all new infections are in the 16 – 20 year old group and vaccinations for them will begin soon.

We are thrilled that some folks are able to come this year – 4 of our Gobi Gallopers will participate but others are still welcome to join if they are up for an adventure.

The rest of the Gobi Gallopers have postponed until 2022 – which will also be a September Gobi Gallop due to the operational requirements for Horse Trek Mongolia as we will be riding the Blue Wolf Totem Expedition from May – August.

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Although the Gobi Gallop movie cover claims that it is “Longest annual charity horseback ride on the planet”, there is an even bigger ride coming soon.

Julie is organizing another equestrian event for 2022: the Blue Wolf Totem Charity Expedition. The article about this event will be published soon!

Thanks to Julie Veloo

Thank you Julie for all the information about the Gobi Gallop and for sharing the link of the documentary with us.

In this interview, you were able to see how you can combine your love of horses and na-ture with social awareness, while helping those people in greatest need.

You have more information on the websites of the Veloo Foundation and Horse Trek Mongolia.

/ Photos: Veloo Foundation and Horse Trek Mongolia /

Are you also passionate about the idea of travelling Asia on horseback?

If you are interested in horse riding holidays in Mongolia or in other Asian countries, download our free eBook to find the most suitable horseback tour for you.

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